Canceling service with old service provider

[Zyl]

Hi there, 

I have a friend who wants to sign up with Public Mobile She is currently using Telus and wants to port her existing cell no. from Telus to Public Mobile.  I read on the help file here that her exiting cell. no. will be automatically deactivated from Telus as soon as it's ported over.  My question is:  Does she still have to contact Telus to formally close her account and tell them to stop charging her or would her account at Telus be automatically closed and the charges be stopped once the number is ported over?  I do not want her to be charged double from Public Mobile and Telus, her soon-to-be old service provider once her SIM with Public Mobile is activated and her number ported over. 

Thanks  

[Zyl]

@darlicious , it was also the fact that the charge came from "Koodo Reapproved Edmonton" that really spooked us.  She has never signed up with Koodo and is located nowhere near Edmonton and all of sudden she is being charged by Koodo??  And it really didn't help that Koodo has the exact same plan as hers so we really weren't sure.  

Public Mobile really needs to stop sharing everything with Koodo.  The very first welcome text my friend received came from Koodo too.  Confused the hell out of her.  LOL  

[darlicious]

@Zyl 

Lol...yeah that was kind of an important point to have not caught onto....if she registered for autopay when she activated then she will actually have $14 off her next renewal. She gets a $2 autopay credit added to her bill along with the $10 bonus referral credit. There will then be the $2 autopay reward in her rewards section waiting to be applied upon her next renewal. $2+$10+$2=$14.

[Zyl]

Finally got the answer from Customer Agents.  Public Mobile phone plans are prepaid plans so the full amount without rewards is immediately due upon activation.  For the next bill, all the rewards will be applying.  She will get the $10 credit + $2 Autopay and I will be getting the $2 Autopay and the $1 referral so she will be very happy next month.  🙂  

Just want to keep everybody updated.  Didn't know that the phone plans here are prepaid so sorry about the confusion.  Thanks for all your help.  

[Zyl]

Then why did she first get the welcome text from Koodo and then got charged by Koodo in Edmonton on her credit card?  The SIM no. might be unique within Public Mobile but it might be an old SIM no. that was used by Koodo previously that was just suspended but never cancelled in the Koodo system and has now been rebranded as a Public Mobile SIM no. and given out.  And because it got activated in Public Mobile, in the Koodo system, it's seen as a reactivation so now it's been charged by Koodo as well.  My friend signed up for the $15/month plan which also exists in Koodo as one of their starter plan that has exactly the same plan features as the $15/month plan at Public Mobile:  https://www.koodomobile.com/rate-plans?INTCMP=KMNew_NavMenu_Shop_Plans.    

This is what I think has happened.  They reactivated an old Koodo SIM card with the plan that my friend chose and made my friend pay for it.  Still waiting for the answer from the Customer Service Agent. 

[computergeek541]

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@Zyl wrote:

Yes this is the same friend that had to port her number over to Public Mobile.  She was referred by me.  And it is a new activation.  The "Koodo Edmonton" charge was seen on her credit card.  It is an actual charge that was charged on her credit card.  I am new to Public Mobile too and just had my SIM activated as well and I didn't have to pay anything.  Why did she have to pay?  Her plan is not due to renew until December and it's stated that on her self-serve that her payment is due in December.  This does not make sense.  And plus she signed up with Public Mobile and yet she got charged by Koodo and in Edmonton??!!   

I think this is an old Koodo card with a duplicate SIM no.  that's now being given out as a Public Mobile card.  That's my suspicion.  The Customer Service Agent is still investigating.    

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There are no duplicated SIM card numbers. Each SIM card has a unique number.

[Zyl]

Yes this is the same friend that had to port her number over to Public Mobile.  She was referred by me.  And it is a new activation.  The "Koodo Edmonton" charge was seen on her credit card.  It is an actual charge that was charged on her credit card.  I am new to Public Mobile too and just had my SIM activated as well and I didn't have to pay anything.  Why did she have to pay?  Her plan is not due to renew until December and it's stated that on her self-serve that her payment is due in December.  This does not make sense.  And plus she signed up with Public Mobile and yet she got charged by Koodo and in Edmonton??!!   

I think this is an old Koodo card with a duplicate SIM no.  that's now being given out as a Public Mobile card.  That's my suspicion.  The Customer Service Agent is still investigating.    

[esjliv]

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@Zyl wrote:

My friend got charged for $17.50 on her credit card when she shouldn't have been charged at all until in Dec.  This charge is obviously unauthorized and the fact that it came all the way from Edmonton which is totally not where my friend is located is even more concerning.  

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@Zyl is this the same friend from the beginning of this thread who want wants to port?

If this was a new activation, note that the full amount is due upon activation, than any rewards/bonus (Autopay/$10 referral code) is then applied on the first renewal.

What plan was activated?

Where is this Edmonton charge seen? Is it an authorized credit card charge or 'Pending'?

[Zyl]

My friend got charged for $17.50 on her credit card when she shouldn't have been charged at all until in Dec.  This charge is obviously unauthorized and the fact that it came all the way from Edmonton which is totally not where my friend is located is even more concerning.  

[Anonymous]

I'm not sure any of this matters. Is the charge at about the same date as the activation date? As long as everything works and you have Public Mobile service then this background stuff shouldn't matter other than maybe a little confusing. I seem to recall seeing this before from another customer. Activation could look like Koodo but subsequent charges will look like PM.

[darlicious]

@Zyl 

Pm sim cards are sent from vendors under contract with pm so depending where they are being shipped to will determine the vendor they will come from. The one and only time I ordered pm sim cards directly from pm they were shipped from Naniamo on Vancouver Island to Vancouver.

[Zyl]

@darlicious .  I ordered the two SIM cards online directly from the Public Mobile website.  There were no vendors involved.  It was obviously Public Mobile who sent me one SIM card from Public Mobile and another SIM card from Koodo.  And remember I mentioned that my friend also receive the first welcome message from Koodo and not Public Mobile?  It looks like Public Mobile is sharing lot more than just back end servers with Koodo.  And what's even weirder is that the charge appeared under "Koodo top up Reapprove K Edmonton".  My friend has her credit card with her all the time and is nowhere near Edmonton.  So if this is a compromised credit card, HOW did somebody get a hold of her credit card?  All she did was activating the SIM card that I gave her and using my referral code?  😮   

Very strange.  Let's see what the Customer Service Agent from Public Mobile says. 

[darlicious]

@Zyl 

Well that's the first I have heard of either of those things happening. Make sure the CSA also opens a ticket with the tech team to investigate why there are koodo charges appearing on her credit card. Pm does not have preauthorization permission to charge credit cards. The only have a once per 30 days ability to attempt a one time only charge of any outstanding amounts to the accounts plan amount. She may want to call her credit card issuer to ensure her credit card has not been compromised.

In regards to the pm sim card having been replaced with a koodo sim card is an issue wth the vendor that handled your sim card order. I would ask for a credit equal to the cost of the pm sim card on your account.

[Zyl]

So I guess everything is still not all set for my friend.  I spoke too soon.  LOL  

[Zyl]

@darlicious, turns out there is more than just an innocent mix-up of back-end servers.  My friend's credit card actually got charged $17.50 for "Koodo top-up reapproved" or whatever crap even though her billing date is not supposed to be until Dec.  It's obvious that they sent me the wrong SIM card from Koodo for me to refer to my friends.  The pocket that I received the extra SIM card in clearly stated "Public Mobile" on it but it's obviously a Koodo card.  Now my friend is being charged this extra charge from Koodo when she has nothing to do with Koodo.  Already submitted a ticket to Customer Service Agent to reverse this charge.  Just putting this out there to see if anyone else has encountered this problem of the wrong SIM card being sent to them and actually got charged for it. 

Thanks 

[Zyl]

Everything all set for my friend!  Now she's getting a whole sleuth of welcoming texts from Public Mobile.  LOL  She is very happy to have received the $10 credit.   

Thanks everyone for your help.  Really appreciate it.   

[darlicious]

@Zyl 

Yes the text from koodo instead of pm happens sometimes. Koodo prepaid and pm share the same backend so the errant text probably stems from them using a shared system.

[Zyl]

Yes her phone number is shown on top of the "My Plans and Add-ons" tab page.  She is able to receive calls and receive and send SMS using Public Mobile.  The text that I sent to her and what she texted out to me did show up on her usage history.  She's even received text from Public Mobile confirming her account and her rewards with Public Mobile.  It's just her welcome SMS text was from Koodo.  Really weird.  Was Public Mobile part of Koodo before that they used to share the same texting server?  Just wondering...

Thanks for your help.  

[fujiyama]

That is probably a bug. Have your friend sign in to PM Self Serve and check if the correct phone number is listed there. If it is, and all functions work properly then there should be nothing to worry about.

Edit: Once in self serve, click on the "Plan and Add-ons" tab at the top left. Your number will be shown at the top of that page.

[Zyl]

No email from PM only a welcome SMS text from Koodo. 

[Zyl]

Ok this is really weird.  My friend is all set up.  She's changed her SIM and I am able to call her number.  Her cellphone does receive the call and on her cellphone for SIM card status, it does say she's on the Public Mobile network but she received a SMS text from Koodo with number 83585 saying "Welcome to Koodo.  Your transfer requestion has been completed successfully...Thank you for being a Koodo customer.  Free Koodo msg." at exactly the same time when she changed the SIM card.  

Why is she receiving a SMS text message from Koodo when she's on the Public Mobile network and has received a SIM card from Public Mobile?  

Thanks 

[darlicious]

@Zyl 

The port is probably already completed. Tell her to attempt a call with the telus sim card. If it does not go thru she will know it's completed. Either way she can change sim cards and call you. You can then call her. If it goes to voicemail her port isn't finished if it goes thru then its completed.She will probably get a text from pm welcoming her to pm and she has finished porting her number over to pm.

[Dunkman]

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@Zyl wrote:

Ok so she should wait 2-3 hours before changing the Telus SIM card to the Public Mobile SIM card?  She is using the same phone.  Is she going to receive some kind of confirmation to confirm the porting is successful? 

Thanks  

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@Zyl 

Your friend can keep using the Telus SIM card/phone.  Once the Telus service stops, then that usually mean that the port was successful.  Then put the PM SIM card in the phone.   

Since PM is part of Telus group of companies, the port should be relatively quick.  

[CountyDownIeUk]

You "might" get an email from PM. 

[CountyDownIeUk]

There is nothing stopping you to try to call each other. 

[Zyl]

Ok so she should wait 2-3 hours before changing the Telus SIM card to the Public Mobile SIM card?  She is using the same phone.  Is she going to receive some kind of confirmation to confirm the porting is successful? 

Thanks  

[Anonymous]

 @Zyl : I remember a few days ago someone reporting that they got a text on their old SIM saying they could go ahead and put the new SIM in. That's a pretty good sign. 🙂

[esjliv]

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@Zyl wrote:

Thanks for all your help.  My friend has now received the SMS text from Telus asking her to confirm the number-porting request and she has replied "Yes" to the SMS.  How does she know that the number has been ported over successfully for her to do the SIM card changeover?  Does she need to wait until she receives some kind of confirmation to confirm the number has been ported successfully before changing the SIM card or can she change the SIM card right away? 

Thanks 

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@Zyl  Incoming calls are usually the last to port over.

Cell phone numbers can take up to 2-3 hours to complete.

When porting over a number, with the PM SIM card in the phone I would suggest a Reset of the Network Settings.

Then see if in/out calling and texts work; as well as data.

Leave it overnight if incoming calls are not yet working, and make sure all services are working tomorrow.

[Zyl]

Thanks for all your help.  My friend has now received the SMS text from Telus asking her to confirm the number-porting request and she has replied "Yes" to the SMS.  How does she know that the number has been ported over successfully for her to do the SIM card changeover?  Does she need to wait until she receives some kind of confirmation to confirm the number has been ported successfully before changing the SIM card or can she change the SIM card right away? 

Thanks 

[CountyDownIeUk]

No, but is a good idea to make sure Account is still active during the port process and suggest to remove payment set up before as well. Leave the Telus sim in until asked to confirm port out. 

[esjliv · Accepted solution]

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@Zyl wrote:

Hi there, 

I have a friend who wants to sign up with Public Mobile She is currently using Telus and wants to port her existing cell no. from Telus to Public Mobile.  I read on the help file here that her exiting cell. no. will be automatically deactivated from Telus as soon as it's ported over.  My question is:  Does she still have to contact Telus to formally close her account and tell them to stop charging her or would her account at Telus be automatically closed and the charges be stopped once the number is ported over?  I do not want her to be charged double from Public Mobile and Telus, her soon-to-be old service provider once her SIM with Public Mobile is activated and her number ported over. 

Thanks  

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@Zyl  - porting to Public Mobile from Telus will close the Telus account automatically. 

Do not close the Telus account or your port may not complete.

Unless, you have some kind of family plan with Telus. And if the number you are wanting to port is the master number...this may warrant a call to Telus first.

Public Mobile is a part of the Telus family. So, porting should go smoothly during the activation process.

https://publicmobile.ca/en/bc/portal/activation